Ferris State Softball To Face Wayne State In First Round Of GLIAC Tournament This Friday
Big Rapids, Mich. - The "second" season for the Ferris State University softball team begins this weekend (May 5-7) as the Bulldogs seek to claim their third Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament title in the program's history.
The Bulldogs along with seven other teams are scheduled to compete in the 2017 GLIAC Softball Tournament, which will take place at Marathon Diamond Fields in Findlay, Ohio.
Ferris State, which presently has a 18-22 overall record with a seventh-place 11-11 GLIAC mark this season, is the number seven seed and will go up against number two seed Wayne State this Friday (May 5) in an opening-round tilt at the double-elimination conference tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. (EDT) with the winner to play the Saginaw Valley State-Hillsdale winner on Friday at 4 p.m. (EDT) in the winner's bracket.
FSU, under interim head coach Adam Kirkpatrick, has presently won four of its last six games overall this season and posted an 8-2 mark on its home field this year. The Bulldogs' opponent, Wayne State, concluded the regular season at 36-12 overall along with a second-place 15-7 conference mark.
Comprising the eight-team tourney field are Grand Valley State, Wayne State, Saginaw Valley State, Ohio Dominican, Ashland, Hillsdale, FSU and Findlay in seeding order. GVSU claimed the top overall seed after winning the GLIAC regular-season crown.
The 2017 GLIAC Softball Tournament Championship game is set for this Sunday (May 7) in Findlay. A 10 a.m. (EDT) starting time is scheduled for the title contest and if necessary per the double-elimination format, a second game will follow to determine the conference tournament champion. The winner of the GLIAC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament (May 12-14) at a campus site to be announced.
Ferris State has won two conference tournaments (2000 and 2005) in the program's history to date. The Bulldogs have registered a 18-16 record (.533) in GLIAC Tournament play since 2005. This year's berth will represent FSU's second consecutive trip to the league tournament after the Bulldogs last year made their first showing since 2013.
The 2017 season represents the 13th consecutive year in which only the top eight of the conference's current softball playing institutions qualify for the GLIAC Tournament. The criteria is based upon each team's regular-season conference record. The 1985 campaign marked the league's first-ever postseason tournament in softball.
The complete conference tournament central website can be found at this link:
GLIAC Tourney Bracket